caught her shoulders, trapping her so that she must look at him. “Why me? Why risk a journey halfway around the world to become the consort of a stranger?”
She became utterly still, her gaze locking with his. “Because of who and what you are, Ranulph,” she said quietly. “Our people mate often, but seldom love. Few of the Folk desire the kind of bond you wanted to have with Leah.”
She raised her hand to his face, her fingers light. “You were mistaken in your choice of mate, but not in the truth of your heart. You have a rare capacity to love, Ranulph, though it is a word the Folk never use.”
Kamana closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she let him see into her soul, to the vulnerability and desperate yearning that she hid behind her teasing. “I wanted love, but could not find it in my own land. Like you, I was a solitary who yearned for my true mate. Finally I went through the door of dream-time to find if such a being even existed. The Great Mother gave me a vision of a wild and golden faery lord who lived in a far distant place. I knew then that my true mate existed, though to find you I would have to risk my very existence. But if I succeeded, the silver threads of our destinies would knot and become one forever.”
Her eyes searched his, uncertainty and hope in the golden depths. “I thought I recognized you the moment we first met. Was I wrong? Did . . . did I allow my yearning to distort my vision?”
In the drowning pools of her eyes, he saw an end to loneliness, a craving for union that matched his own. He’d never found such longing among the Folk of his land, had not believed that it existed anywhere except among humankind. That was why he had become obsessed with Leah—because he’d known that the mortal girl had an immense capacity to love.
With wonder and deep humility, he recognized the rare and precious gifts Kamana was offering. Companionship. Passion. A love for all eternity. This was what he had longed for, this shining creature from a far place who knew the shape of his spirit, and would complete it with her own.
Huskily he said, “No, Kamana. You were not wrong.” Then, with a blossoming of joy, Ranulph drew her into his arms, and surrendered to his destiny.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Have you tried Mary Jo’s Lost Lords series? It starts with
LOVING A LOST LORD . . .
In the first of a dazzling series, Mary Jo Putney introduces the Lost Lords—maverick childhood friends with a flair for defying convention. Each is about to discover the woman who is his perfect match—but perfection doesn’t come easily, even for the noble Duke of Ashton . . .
Battered by the sea, Adam remembers nothing of his past, his ducal rank, nor of the shipwreck that almost claimed his life. However, he’s delighted to hear that the golden-haired vision tending his wounds is his wife. Mariah’s name and face may not be familiar, but her touch, her warmth, feel deliciously right . . .
When Mariah Clarke prayed for a way to deter a bullying suitor, she didn’t imagine she’d find the answer washed ashore on a desolate beach. Convincing Adam that he is her husband is surprisingly easy. Resisting the temptation to act his wife, in every way, will prove anything but. And now a passion begun in fantasy has become dangerously real—and completely irresistible . . .
NEVER LESS THAN A LADY
New York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney continues her stunning Lost Lords series with this stirring, sensual story of a rebellious nobleman drawn to a lovely widow with a shocking past.
As the sole remaining heir to the Earl of Daventry, Alexander Randall knows his duty: find a wife and sire a son of his own. The perfect bride for a man in his position would be a biddable young girl of good breeding. But the woman who haunts his imagination is Julia Bancroft—a village midwife with a dark secret that thrusts her into Randall’s protection.
Within the space
She became utterly still, her gaze locking with his. “Because of who and what you are, Ranulph,” she said quietly. “Our people mate often, but seldom love. Few of the Folk desire the kind of bond you wanted to have with Leah.”
She raised her hand to his face, her fingers light. “You were mistaken in your choice of mate, but not in the truth of your heart. You have a rare capacity to love, Ranulph, though it is a word the Folk never use.”
Kamana closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, she let him see into her soul, to the vulnerability and desperate yearning that she hid behind her teasing. “I wanted love, but could not find it in my own land. Like you, I was a solitary who yearned for my true mate. Finally I went through the door of dream-time to find if such a being even existed. The Great Mother gave me a vision of a wild and golden faery lord who lived in a far distant place. I knew then that my true mate existed, though to find you I would have to risk my very existence. But if I succeeded, the silver threads of our destinies would knot and become one forever.”
Her eyes searched his, uncertainty and hope in the golden depths. “I thought I recognized you the moment we first met. Was I wrong? Did . . . did I allow my yearning to distort my vision?”
In the drowning pools of her eyes, he saw an end to loneliness, a craving for union that matched his own. He’d never found such longing among the Folk of his land, had not believed that it existed anywhere except among humankind. That was why he had become obsessed with Leah—because he’d known that the mortal girl had an immense capacity to love.
With wonder and deep humility, he recognized the rare and precious gifts Kamana was offering. Companionship. Passion. A love for all eternity. This was what he had longed for, this shining creature from a far place who knew the shape of his spirit, and would complete it with her own.
Huskily he said, “No, Kamana. You were not wrong.” Then, with a blossoming of joy, Ranulph drew her into his arms, and surrendered to his destiny.
And they all lived happily ever after.
Have you tried Mary Jo’s Lost Lords series? It starts with
LOVING A LOST LORD . . .
In the first of a dazzling series, Mary Jo Putney introduces the Lost Lords—maverick childhood friends with a flair for defying convention. Each is about to discover the woman who is his perfect match—but perfection doesn’t come easily, even for the noble Duke of Ashton . . .
Battered by the sea, Adam remembers nothing of his past, his ducal rank, nor of the shipwreck that almost claimed his life. However, he’s delighted to hear that the golden-haired vision tending his wounds is his wife. Mariah’s name and face may not be familiar, but her touch, her warmth, feel deliciously right . . .
When Mariah Clarke prayed for a way to deter a bullying suitor, she didn’t imagine she’d find the answer washed ashore on a desolate beach. Convincing Adam that he is her husband is surprisingly easy. Resisting the temptation to act his wife, in every way, will prove anything but. And now a passion begun in fantasy has become dangerously real—and completely irresistible . . .
NEVER LESS THAN A LADY
New York Times bestselling author Mary Jo Putney continues her stunning Lost Lords series with this stirring, sensual story of a rebellious nobleman drawn to a lovely widow with a shocking past.
As the sole remaining heir to the Earl of Daventry, Alexander Randall knows his duty: find a wife and sire a son of his own. The perfect bride for a man in his position would be a biddable young girl of good breeding. But the woman who haunts his imagination is Julia Bancroft—a village midwife with a dark secret that thrusts her into Randall’s protection.
Within the space
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